ABSTRACT
The making of 'Great Britain' does not conform precisely to either pattern, though it contains elements of each. There is both design and accident, coercion and consent, in the processes which combined to bring it about over some 200 years. In 1502 Henry VII of England concluded a full peace treaty with James IV of Scotland, the first since 1328, and 'perpetual peace' between the two kingdoms was in prospect. A French garrison appeared in Scotland to deter any English attack from the south. James V, who successfully escaped from his protectors in 1528, was determined to prove that he had a will of his own, but was ever mindful of his English uncle. James's authority and acceptability grew steadily in Scotland in the 1590s, but as time passed it was the prospect that he would succeed to the English Crown which began to concentrate men's minds, both north and south of the Border.
